Hollywood Screenwriter

Hollywood agents producers and studio executives are waiting checkbooks ready for the next great spec script. But the first thing they notice about your script is the format - does this look like a polished professional screenplay? Should I read it? Or toss it? Hollywood Screenwriter has the answer - writing a perfectly-formatted spec script is a cinch with this easy-to-use program!System Requirements:IBM PC or compatible machine 486 DX or better CPU required Windows 3.1 or better 4 MB of available RAM 3 MB of available hard disk space 2x CD-ROM driveFormat: WIN 9598NTXP Genre: PRODUCTIVITY Rating:  UPC: 705868080255 Manufacturer No: 908035

Express your ideas in the form of a screenplay and turn them into a movie, TV show or play for professional consideration

Just push a few keys and enter every important script element -- character, dialogue, action, scene breaks and more

Built-in typing assistant helps you work more efficiently by filling in names & direction after just a few letters

Television Templates add automatic formats, margins, script styles and character lists

Sample scripts let you see screenwriting samples from hit shows like NYPD Blue, The X Files and Frasier to see how the pros do it

Average Customer Review: ( 31 customer reviews )
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First time I noticed a problem was when I tried to email my script to a friend for comments - you can't. Unless the other person has Hollywood Screenwriter, they won't be able to open it. The program doesn't even allow you to cut your text into a Word document (or any other application for that matter.) Secondly, the top and bottom margins were set at 1.5 inches so for several weeks I thought my script was much longer than it actually was. The margins are easily corrected, but still, 1 inch is proper industry format - they should know that. Third, the spacing between scene headings is incorrect. Proper industry format says three spaces, this program gives you two. I had to go in and hit a hard return at the beginning of every scene heading in a hundred page script - very annoying. Fourth, you can not incorporate a (beat) into the dialogue. As soon as you type a parantheses, the program thinks its acting instructions and formats whatever is in the () accordingly. On the online FAQ they recognize this problem and say to use [] or {} for beats!!! That's great, try to break into the business by having your script look different than other professional scripts. I don't think so. I makes me wonder what other formatting stlyle is incorrect.

Finally, and this is a doozy, at any point you can go and try to open a script you've been working on forever and find that it isn't there. The program gives an Error 32, whatever that means, and opens up what it calls your script but is actually one blank page. The company's online help has an update you can download to fix this problem and after the download, you'll supposedly be able to recover your script. Didn't work for me. I opened an older version I had and then re-did my work to the best of my memory. Now, this morning, I popped the CD in and...nothing. The program won't open at all.

When I researched the different programs to buy I did see mention of some little quirks but I figured for the price it would be a good place to start. Wrong. Unless you have no intention of sharing your script with anyone via email, etc. or don't care about proper format, or don't mind just randomly losing your whole damn script for no apparent reason, spend the extra few buck for something that works. Speaking of which - does anyone have any recommendations? I'm now in the market.

53 of 55 found the following review helpful:

This is a GREAT program if you know what you are doing.Nov 02, 2000
By icekatice
I LOVE this program. I for one, don't mind that you have to use the CD to run the program: Less space used up on my hard drive so that aspect does not bother me. I have had absolutely no problems with formatting. All my "spacing" is correct and falls under industry guidelines. I got the "proper" 1 inch space at the top and did not have any other problems with the program. This software, unlike others, will NOT write the screenplay for you. You absolutely need to know the ins and outs of screenwriting because it will not hold your hand through the process. I for one, do not want index cards popping up reminding me of what was written before. That is confusing and I am competent enough to keep up with my own work. This is a great basic program, and you can't beat the price. If you know how to write a screenplay or even if you have read a book on how to write a screenplay, this program is all you need. No frills, no chills, but it gives you the chance, properly formatted, to put your words down.

30 of 31 found the following review helpful:

False economy?Sep 29, 2000
By Peter Reeve
I bought this because it was the cheapest screenwriting software available... A major inconvenience with it is that you need the CD in place when you run it. Like many people, I use two PCs - a desktop and a laptop - so that makes the requirement to have the CD to hand even more inconvenient. Tip: if your PC has a removable CD drive and you start the program with it removed, the program does not ask for it and runs anyway! The program does not handle certain script features very well, e.g. transitions and complex character headings like FRED (V.O.) (CONT'D).

30 of 32 found the following review helpful:

A cheap program with some big gotcha'sMay 31, 2003

Sure, this program is [cheap] compared to [the expensive] Movie Magic Screenwriter 2000 or Final Draft, but this program is so loaded with technical glitches and gotchas that I can't recommend it unless you're planning to write and print a single short screenplay for a school assignment or something like that. The documentation says you can export your text into other programs, but you can't! So whatever you write is locked into this limited-feature program forever, unless you want to retype it all. There are lots of other things promised by the manual or box cover but not delivered in the program. If you have any fantasies of actually writing and selling a screenplay, don't buy this product. Save your money and buy one of the industry standard programs instead.

38 of 42 found the following review helpful:

Response to M. Sindy Felin's ReviewNov 02, 2005
By Richard Mcclelland
My name is Richard McClelland and I am the manager of Write Brothers Technical Support. I would like to take the time to respond M. Sindy Felin's harsh and inaccurate review of Hollywood Screenwriter.

Also, I am rating our product at 3 stars because I do not think it would be proper for me to rate it in a way that would affect the average rating.

First time I noticed a problem was when I tried to email my script to a friend for comments - you can't. Unless the other person has Hollywood Screenwriter, they won't be able to open it. The program doesn't even allow you to cut your text into a Word document (or any other application for that matter.)

ANSWER

You can copy or paste into other programs now and you could always save as an RTF file. Which would allow you to share your script.

Secondly, the top and bottom margins were set at 1.5 inches so for several weeks I thought my script was much longer than it actually was. The margins are easily corrected, but still, 1 inch is proper industry format - they should know that.

ANSWER

This has been corrected in all of the available formats.

Third, the spacing between scene headings is incorrect. Proper industry format says three spaces, this program gives you two. I had to go in and hit a hard return at the beginning of every scene heading in a hundred page script - very annoying.

ANSWER

Actually the program has always given you several different formats of screenplay to use, including one that gives you triple spaces.

Fourth, you can not incorporate a (beat) into the dialogue. As soon as you type a parantheses, the program thinks its acting instructions and formats whatever is in the () accordingly. On the online FAQ they recognize this problem and say to use [] or {} for beats!!! That's great, try to break into the business by having your script look different than other professional scripts. I don't think so. I makes me wonder what other formatting stlyle is incorrect.

ANSWER

By Holding the Control Key while typing the Parenthesis it will place it in your dialogue.

Finally, and this is a doozy, at any point you can go and try to open a script you've been working on forever and find that it isn't there. The program gives an Error 32, whatever that means, and opens up what it calls your script but is actually one blank page. The company's online help has an update you can download to fix this problem and after the download, you'll supposedly be able to recover your script. Didn't work for me. I opened an older version I had and then re-did my work to the best of my memory. Now, this morning, I popped the CD in and...nothing. The program won't open at all.

The Error 32 is absolutely fixed in the current version that is shipping, so this should not be a problem. If it did not work for this user, than more than likely the update was not installed correctly.

Most of these Reviewer's complaints could of been resolved with call to Technical Support or by simply spending some time exploring the program.

See all 31 customer reviews on Amazon.com